Jul 23, 2012 4:03 PM

I have just returned to beekeeping after several years break & nowadays have the Varroa mite to contend with. Changing the floor of the hive this afternoon I spotted a small red bug on it. It lay still for a while then scuttled about at great speed for 2 or 3 seconds then lay still again. I captured it on a piece of sellotape. Under a 40X microscope it fills the viewer, it has 8 legs & a squat oval body which is like amber & translucent. It has 2 shadowy marks down either side of its back & a small black elongated spot on its upper back.

Much to my relief it is not a Varroa mite & doesn't look like a bee louse or one of the other 2 bee parasites shown on my defra leaflet, so what is it & was it just an innocent passer-by?